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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Old ladies haul??

This is a story about changing the perspective, or better said, perception
of a brand. Until recently I always thought of Avon as a brand for older ladies
who prefer to buy make-up and cosmetics out of the comfort of their own home.
But then I stumbled upon their leave-in conditioner a couple of years back when
I went on vacation without any and borrowed it from a friend. And guess what? I
absolutely loved it! And a couple of weeks later I learned another piece of information
- my mother-in-law is actually an “Avon lady”.

And yes, I started using a number of hair and body products from Avon but
remained hesitant when it came to make-up. But again – I dove right in and this
is the mini Avon haul from last week.

First up, I picked up a scented body spritz
called Vibrant (orchid and blueberry). It has a very distinctive smell
of alcohol when you first apply it but turns into a nice flowery smell
afterwards. Being a body mist, it doesn’t last that long, so make sure you
apply it right before you want to be smelling good. I found it especially
refreshing during the last few warmer days when I needed to freshen up.

The story is similar with the Sparkly Citrus Eau de toilette. It has a very
strong citrusy smell in the beginning but it fades out quickly – on my skin, it
only lasts about 2-3 hours. It would be a nice purse bottle if it only came
with a cap. But it doesn’t so it’s impossible to carry around. This is also a
negative from the aesthetical point of view – it doesn’t look very nice next to
my other perfume bottles, so I will not be making a repeat purchase. I will be
trying the Parisian Chic Eau de Perfume though, because the tester they sent me
smells absolutely beautiful – it’s more of a flowery smell (to me, it smells
like raspberries and roses), but I still think this could be my fall/winter
smell for when I’m feeling a bit down. Do you have a pick-me-up scent?

Following the August favorites theme here, I picked up two nail products – first
one being a Nailwear pro polish in Racy. The color is a deep plum, which again
makes me think of falling leaves and young wine. I haven’t worn it yet but have
swatched it – it’s really intense and will probably require only one coat,
which is a plus in my book.

Next up in the nail section, I purchased the Nail Experts Liquid Freeze for
quick drying of nail polish. I know I raved about the Essie Good to Go in the
August favorites, but a cheaper alternative would be welcome. Well, this stuff
isn’t it. It’s impossible to control the spraying action because when spraying
from about 20 cm away (there are no directions so I just went with the feeling)
you get this stuff all over your entire hands. It’s oily and it makes weird
bubbles on my nails which means I had to repeat the entire manicure. So thanks,
but no thanks. If anyone wants it, let me know – maybe you can make it work.

I also got the “Ideal flawless” (OMG!) CC cream. I have owned a BB cream
before but never a CC one. First impression of this product is not a very
positive one – it’s very sheer so it gives almost no coverage and I think it
broke me out on the drier areas of my face. I will continue to use it, so
sooner or later it will find its way to my empties or some other less favorable
post.

Last but not least I picked up three eye products, but I only have opinions
on two of them since I haven’t opened the Supershock mascara just yet – I have
so many opened ones that I really need to get through them first. Along with
the mascara I purchased two liners – the Glimmerstick Brights and the
SuperExtend Liquid Eyeliner. All I can say about these two is that they are
both doing their job. The liquid eyeliner has a really nice felt-tip point
which makes for a simple cat eye. It’s also quite pigmented and doesn’t smudge
or budge during the day. On the other hand, the Glimmerstick is a bit creamier
but also glides on really well. I was afraid of it being heavy on glitter but
no, no such thing. To be honest – none of these products is anything to write
home about – I would compare the quality to Catrice or similar less expensive
brands.

I will need to have a sit down with my mother-in-law and ask for her advice
the next time because this was honestly quite an unfortunate haul from my
perspective. But we all learn from our mistakes! What is the one product you absolutely regret buying?

2 comments:

I love your style of writing :) !There's just something so comforting about buying make-up from home,be it Avon or on internet.Years ago I used to regularly buy a primer by Avon,but later on my - Avon girl - stopped working as such and since then I've never bought an Avon product again.Though I really liked this primer,I wasn't all that impressed with the other products.But it was a nice experience :) ...XO

I really think that with Avon, you get a quite reasonable price:quality ratio, but the fact is that there are so many inexpensive brands in drugstores now that you can actually try before purchase that it's not as cool as it used to be :)